BeautifulPeople.com axes 5,000 members for gaining weight

A social networking site for "beautiful people" has axed 5,000 members for piling on the pounds over Christmas.

BeautifulPeople.com , which claims to have a strict ban on "ugly people", said "vigilant members" called for drastic action after users posted photos of themselves celebrating Christmas and the New Year - revealing they had "let themselves go".

"We responded to complaints by moving the newly chubby members back to the rating stage. This is the same as having them re-apply," said Greg Hodge, the managing director.

"Their re-applications were reviewed by existing members and only a few hundred were voted back in. Over 5,000 were rejected."

Most of those expelled came from the US and Canada, but nearly 900 were from Britain.

The social networking site, which boasts 550,000 members worldwide, allows its members to decide on who should be allowed to join.